Boosting immunity with whole foods

As we fall back into the cooler months, many people are dreading cold and flu season. Whether or not you have children who have started back to school, the spread of bacteria and viruses spikes this time every year. How can we avoid sick days and stay well during the fall and winter months?

There are three basic tips to help protect you and your family’s health this season: eat well, wash your hands often and get the flu shot. The flu shot is the best way to prevent the flu and will be widely available by mid-October at no cost, including at the in-store pharmacy at Atlantic Superstore. Even if you never get symptoms of the flu, you can still pass it to others who have weaker immune systems, including young children or older adults.

Most people think of taking a vitamin supplement or optimizing diet after getting sick with a cold or flu, but you can actually prevent getting sick or lessen the symptoms by optimizing your diet before catching the virus. Now is the time to focus on eating whole food sources of important nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin A, zinc and probiotics.

The best habit you can create to strengthen your immune system is eating enough fruits and vegetables. This is the main food group I often see clients lacking. We recommend getting four to five servings of vegetables and three servings of fruit per day.

A serving is half cup of fresh or frozen, raw or cooked fruits and vegetables or a medium piece of fruit. You can get this amount of vegetables in your diet if you work toward making half your plate a few kinds of vegetables. Consuming the recommended amount will provide you with more than the daily requirement of vitamin C, a high intake of fibre, vitamin A and beneficial antioxidants important for immunity.

With half of your plate being vegetables, the remaining half should be split evenly between starchy foods and meat and alternatives. An important nutrient we get from this food group is zinc, which is vital to proper immune system functioning. Beef is high in zinc, but choosing other options from this group provides additional benefits, including healthy fats from nuts, seeds and seafood. Pulses like chickpeas, lentils and beans are a vegetarian source of protein and are high in fibre.

Lastly, we are starting to see the link between intestinal and immune health, and the benefits of consuming pre- and probiotics. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria from foods that colonize the gut. Prebiotics are fibre-rich foods that feed these bacteria in the gut. Good sources of prebiotics are vegetables like asparagus, leaks, tomatoes, chicory roots and whole grains including barley, rye and quinoa. Probiotics come from fermented foods such as miso paste, kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, kefir and yogurt made with live active cultures.

It’s best to incorporate these foods into your diet all year long, as you want to boost the immune system well before cold and flu season starts. If you feel you have areas to work on, start now to make improvements to your diet instead of filling up on supplements and orange juice after getting sick. Try making the recipe below, which has chickpeas for fibre and protein and butternut squash for vitamins A and C.

1. Place squash halves, cut sides down, in eight-inch (two-litre) square glass baking dish; add enough water to come 1/4 inch up the side. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave until fork-tender but not falling apart, nine to 10 minutes. Let stand five minutes. Transfer to cutting board; cut into large chunks (about three inches long by two inches wide by one inch thick). Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, bring large saucepan of water to a boil. Add frozen chickpeas; bring to a simmer. Cook until tender, eight to nine minutes. Drain; pat dry. Set aside.

3. Prepare sauce: stir together yogurt, mint, tahini and lemon juice in small bowl. Set aside.

4. Place halloom in cold, large nonstick skillet; heat on medium. Cook, turning once, until golden, four to six minutes. Transfer to cutting board; cut into quarters. Set aside.

5. Heat one tablespoon of oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add chickpeas; cook, stirring often, until crispy and golden, about five minutes. Reduce heat to medium; add onion. Cook, stirring often, until softened, three to four minutes. Add garlic, za’atar and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper; cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about one minute. Scrape into large bowl. Set aside.

6. Heat remaining one tablespoon of oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add squash and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper; cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown, five to seven minutes. Add chickpea mixture; stir gently to combine and heat through. Transfer to large serving platter. Top with halloom; drizzle with sauce. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and mint.

Chef’s tip: Nervous about peeling and halving a whole squash? Try this trick: trim the ends of the whole, unpeeled squash and cut several slits all over the skin. Place in an eight-inch (two-litre) square glass baking dish and microwave, flipping once, until the skin softens, four to five minutes. Let cool enough to handle, then arrange upright on a cutting board, holding with a kitchen towel. Working from top to bottom, slice off skin with a sharp knife. Halve squash lengthwise; scoop out and discard the seeds. Continue with the recipe as directed.

Hayley Ewing is a Registered Dietitian with Atlantic Superstore in Bridgewater and Liverpool. Have a nutrition question? Want to book a free appointment or educational store tour for yourself or your community group or business? You can reach her at (902) 521-4261 or hayley.ewing@loblaw.ca.